Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Urges Developers to Simplify the Protocol
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is calling on developers to address the issue of protocol overload, which he believes is caused by the constant addition of new features and the reluctance to remove old ones. In a recent post on X, Buterin argued that true trustlessness and self-sovereignty depend less on decentralization metrics and more on simplicity. He emphasized that a protocol with hundreds of thousands of nodes, high Byzantine fault tolerance, and advanced cryptography can still fail if it is overly complex.
Buterin pointed out that complexity undermines Ethereum in three key areas. Firstly, it weakens trustlessness by forcing users to rely on experts to understand the protocol. Secondly, it fails the “walkaway test” because rebuilding high-value systems becomes unrealistic when existing teams disappear. Thirdly, it undermines self-sovereignty as even tech-savvy users can no longer inspect or think about the system themselves. According to Buterin, the problem lies in how protocol changes are evaluated, with a bias towards additions rather than subtractions, causing the codebase to grow larger over time.
Buterin Calls for “Garbage Removal”
To address this issue, Buterin called for an explicit “simplification” or “garbage collection” feature in Ethereum’s development process. The goal is to reduce the total number of lines of code, limit the reliance on complex cryptographic primitives, and introduce more invariants – hard rules that make it easier to predict and implement client behavior. He pointed to past changes, such as the transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), as examples of effective cleanups. Future cleanups could include downgrading rarely used features from the core protocol into smart contracts, thereby reducing the burden on client developers.
Buterin says Ethereum should be simplified like rocket engines. Source: Buterin
Differing Opinions on Protocol Development
Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko has a different approach, arguing that Solana (SOL) must remain in constant motion to meet the needs of developers and users. In response to Buterin’s post, Yakovenko claimed that continuous iteration is essential to Solana’s survival, even if no single group is responsible for driving these changes. In contrast, Buterin believes that Ethereum should eventually pass the “walkaway test” and reach a point where it can operate safely and predictably for decades without constant developer intervention.
For more information on this topic, read the full article on Cointelegraph.
